[VillagesFlorida]

My favorite Easter memory involves my brother, Ernie, who has been gone for several years, but never forgotten. He suffered from epilepsy long before there were any drugs that might help him. A brain injury left him mentally challenged and he was removed from public schools around the age of 13. My father built a barn and filled it with chickens, giving my brother a "job" that would help him occupy his days.

With Easter Sunday fast approaching, my father "hatched" a plan that would make THIS particular Easter one that my brother would never forget. Long before Ernie awoke that Sunday my father sneaked into the barn, removed the eggs from beneath the chickens and painted them with Easter messages. One read, "Happy Easter, Ernie". Another, "From the Easter Bunny", and so on.

Sitting around the breakfast table it wasn't long before the back door opened and we heard my brother squealing with delight. "Look! Look what I found! The Easter Bunny must have stopped by the barn. Look what I found when I went to collect the eggs!" His eyes were as wide as saucers and the words spilled out of his mouth like water cascading from a bucket. This child, who had endured so much in his short life on this earth, felt truly special that day. I felt so honored to receive this "gift" from my brother, to see Easter through his eyes and through his excitement.

Who needs chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps when we can look into our past and find memories like these?